The Duff by Kody Keplinger

The Duff by Kody Keplinger
Young Adult Chick Lit
ISBN: 978-0-316-08423-9
278 pp.
Suitable for 14+

Readers Annotation: Cynical, sarcastic, seventeen-year-old Bianca falls for her worst enemy, the hunky, jerk Wesley to distract herself from her emerging chaotic life.

Plot Summary: Bianca Piper is a cynical, sarcastic, intelligent, seventeen-year-old who discovers that she is the DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend. She discovers this from Wesley, the biggest jerk and man-whore in school that his good looks cover up. Bianca's life comes crashing down from all sides: her parents are getting a divorce, her ex-boyfriend is back in town, her two friends, Jessica and Casey, are indeed prettier than her from her POV causing Bianca to have self-esteem issues and their friendship to deteriorate. So Bianca distracts herself from these issues by having a secret physical relationship with Wesley. The thing is that they both eventually have feelings for each other and like it. Bianca sees right through Wesley, which he likes and helps him change for the better and Wesley has an electric feel that Bianca can not get over. But when Bianca starts solving her issues, she finds another distraction, her original crush, Toby. However, it doesn't feel the same and her friends know it too.

Critical Evaluation: This book has a really good structure that not only has a great plot but a great third act that keeps the reader continually interested. It's chick lit because it does indeed get sappy at times, especially her best friend Casey, that seems like an annoying Jennifer Anniston type-character. The story is told from the point of view of Bianca, which is refreshing considering that she is the exact opposite of girls her age. Her cynical view is funny at times but also shows a side that many girls face: body image. She sees the other girls as skinny with big boobs, which causes her to be self-critical of hers. There is a lot of physical description coming from Bianca's mind though it is not obsessive. She also keeps a lot of things to herself, almost as if its pride. She doesn't want to bother other people with her problems but in the end she knows that she needs to communicate and other girls, some of which are very attractive, do not always feel so. Everyone has issues, everyone is confused, and it's not about who is richest, or the skinniest, but it's all about having confidence, relating to others, and feeling good about yourself.

Author: Kody Keplinger's The Duff was her debut novel that appeared in 2010. It is almost auto-biographical in a way because her life experiences, in her words, as the duff inspired her to write the novel. Amazingly, she wrote this in her senior year in high school. Only nineteen, she is now working on a second novel and is a contributor to the writing blog YA Highway and is a member of the YA fiction group, The Contempts.

Keplinger was born and raised in rural Kentucky, where she attended high school. She is now attending Ithaca College in New York. She also loves books, converse tennis shoes, New York City, and popular TV teen dramas. When she isn't writing, she's spending time with her friends and, most likely, doing piles and piles of homework she has neglected.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Body Image
2) Friendships
3) Friends with benefits
4) Sex
5) High School

Challenge Issues: There are no major challenge issues present in this book.

Why Included: I chose this book because of the title and what it represented. I've never heard the word before so I had to read what it really meant. I'm glad I did because everyone feels like a duff sometimes.